Man caught with gun disguised as iPhone will spend three years behind bars

Marcel Cross

Published:13:26Friday 25 July 2014

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A 21-year-old man who was caught with a gun ‘cleverly’ disguised as an iPhone will spend three years in prison.

Marcel Cross, 21, of Chapel Close, Blackthorn, Bicester was found to have the stun gun which was hidden within a mobile phone frame.

Marcel Cross, 21, of Chapel Close, Blackthorn, Bicester was found to have the stun gun which was hidden within a mobile phone frame. PNL-140725-130712001

He pleaded guilty at Oxford Crown Court to possession of a Section 5 firearm and was sentenced on the same day.

Cross was caught with the weapon at his home by police officers and a sniffer dog at 8pm on January 6, after reports that he had the device.

He was arrested and charged on March 18 and was told on Monday he must spend three years in prison.

A stun gun can incapacitate someone with an electric shock. There are no reports that Cross used the weapon.

Investigating officer PC Joe Stafford said: “The defendant claimed to have purchased the weapon from a local market as a novelty item, but the judge stated that the defendant needed to recognise the seriousness of the offence.

“The stun gun had been cleverly disguised as an iPhone 4 mobile phone. There can only be one reason for disguising an item like this and that is to allow a person to carry it without detection.

“The seriousness of this was reflected in the sentence passed at court. The sentence should act as a deterrent to others who may consider possessing a similar item.”